
Title. 



Oa88.SJLl3.jL. 
Book-~tliS-5_i_I 



Imprint 



ifl— 80809-1 OPO 






Issued April, 1913 



Yale University 

YALE FOREST SCHOOL— Bulletin 2 



PROLONGING THE CUT OF 
SOUTHERN PINE 



PART I. POSSIBILITIES OF A SECOND CUT 

By Herman H. Chapman, Professor of Forest Management 

PART II. CLOSE UTILIZATION OF TIMBER 
By Ralph C. Bryant, Professor of Lumbering 




New Haven 

Yale University Press 

1913 



•graptf 



PUBLICATIONS OF THE YALE FOREST SCHOOL 



Catalogue. 

A pamphlet giving a list of the faculty and students and describing 
the courses is published annually in November. This publication also 
briefly describes the equipment of the School, terms of admission, 
tuition fees, and other expenses. It is mailed free to any address on 
application. 

Bulletins and Memoirs. 

The Yale Forest School began in January, 1912, the publication 
of a series of Bulletins and Memoirs. They are published at irregular 
intervals and are distributed at a fixed price. 

Bulletin I, Classification for Forestry Literature. Price 10 cents. 

Bulletin II, Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine. Price 25 cents. 

Miscellaneous Publications. 

Report of the Alumni Reunion, Yale Forest School. Price 50 cents. 
Outline for a Field Study of a Lumber Operation. Price 10 cents. 

In Preparation. 

History of the Yale Forest School, with Biographieal Record of 
Classes (1901-1912). 

Working Plan of the Forest Property of the New Haven Water 
Company. 

Communications relating to publications should be addressed to the 
YALE FOREST SCHOOL, NEW HAVEN, CONN. Checks should 
be made out in favor of the Yale Forest School. Postage stamps will 
be accepted for amounts less than one dollar. 



Bui. 2, Yale Forest School 



Plate I 




STUDENTS OF THE YALE FOREST SCHOOL CRUISING TIMBER IN A TEXAS SHORTLEAF 

PINE FOREST 



Issued April, 1913 



Yale University 

YALE FOREST SCHOOL— Bulletin 2 



PROLONGING THE CUT OF 
SOUTHERN PINE 



PART I. POSSIBILITIES OF A SECOND CUT 

By Herman H. Chapman, Professor of Forest Management 

PART II. CLOSE UTILIZATION OF TIMBER 

By Ralph C. Bryant, Professor of Lumbering 




New Haven 

Yale University Press 

1913 



<=$ 



CONTENTS 



f6* 



Part I. Possibilities of a Second Cut 

Page 

Introduction 1 

Present policy in the South 2 

Report on lands in Ashley County, Arkansas 3 

Mapping the tract 3 

Estimate and description 4 

Composition of the forest 4 

Damage 5 

Age classes 6 

Reproduction of pine 6 

Growth of pine 7 

Management of the tract 9 

Agricultural possibilities 9 

Securing a second cut of pine 10 

Condition of the cut-over lands 10 

Proposed plan for securing a better second cut 11 

Results of experimental marking for a second cut .... 11 

Necessity of marking trees to be cut 14 

Growth in thinned stands 14 

Growth in virgin stands 15 

Increase in value of second cut 16 

Brush disposal 17 

Financial aspects 17 

Administration 19 

Sustained production of timber 20 

Summary of recommendations 21 

Part II. Close Utilization of Timber 

Introduction 23 

Stumps 23 

Breakage of boles in felling 25 

Crooked trees 25 

Forked trees .,-... 25 

Trimming lengths of logs . .„•. 27 

Selection of log lengths 28 

Waste in the top 29 

Suggestions 81 

Duties of the saw boss 31 



Gift 

Twetltutl« n 

J0N 12 HIS 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Plates 

Page 
Plate I. Students of the Yale Forest School cruising timber 

in a Texas shortleaf pine forest Frontispiece 

11. Fig. 1. — Top broken from falling on a stump 33 

Fig. 2. — Very crooked log ready for loading 33 

III. Fig. 1. — Example of very wasteful cutting of a 

forked tree 35 

Fig. 2. — Unnecessary waste in log-making 35 

IV. Fig. 1. — Section below the top shown in Plate V . . 37 
Fig. 2. — Waste in a top 37 

V. Waste in the top of the tree shown in Plate IV, Fig. 1 39 



Text Figures 

Fig. 1. Method of cutting windfalls 24 

2. Forked tree improperly cut 26 

3. Forked trees improperly prepared 27 

4. Proper method of cutting rough tops 29 



TABLES 



Page 
No. 1. Average growth in diameter breast high outside bark of 
shortleaf and loblolly pine in Ashley County, Arkan- 
sas 7 

2. Average yield per acre of even-aged stands of shortleaf 

pine under ordinary conditions on large areas in Ash- 
ley County, Arkansas 8 

3. Stand of timber on average forty acres of mature and old 

shortleaf and loblolly pine in Ashley County, Arkan- 
sas, showing total number of trees, those to be 
removed and those that would remain 12 

4. Stand of timber on average forty acres of mixed young 

and mature shortleaf and loblolly pine in Ashley 
County, Arkansas, showing total number of trees, 
those to be removed, and those that would remain . . 13 

5. Amount of timber in stump sections of various diameters 

and lengths, showing the waste in high stumps .... 24 

6. Measurements on cut-over lands in Ashley County, 

Arkansas, showing the lack of close utilization .... 30 



Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 



part I 
possibilities of a second cut 

By Herman H. Chapman 



INTRODUCTION 

Since 1907 the Yale Forest School has conducted the field work 
and instruction of the Senior class in the spring term in coopera- 
tion with lumber companies located in the southern states. The 
companies which have extended this cooperation are: 

1907, Missouri Lumber and Mining Co., Grandin, Missouri. 

1908, Kaul Lumber Co., Hollins, Alabama. 

1909, Thompson Brothers Lumber Co., Doucette, Texas. 

1910, Louisiana Central Lumber Co., Clarks, Louisiana. 

1911, Thompson Brothers Lumber Co., Trinity, Texas. 

1912, Crossett Lumber Co., Crossett, Arkansas. 

1913, Southern Lumber Co., Warren, Arkansas. 

In no case has there been a formal contract between the com- 
pany and the School, but under verbal agreement the company 
has allowed the students the freedom of its mills and lands for 
purposes of instruction, built temporary wooden shacks for quar- 
ters in camp, instructed its employees to give such information 
as will be of assistance in instruction in logging and milling, and 
furnished commissary supplies at reasonable prices. The stu- 
dents maintain their own commissary in camp and pay all their 
own expenses. 

The work is conducted primarily with the object of instruction, 
but a large amount of information is collected and given to the 
company. This consists of a topographic map, an estimate and 
description of timber and young growth, data on the growth of 
the timber, suggestions for management of the tract for the pro- 
duction of wood, and studies of present utilization and waste in 
logging. It has been possible so to combine training and practi- 
cal work that although prepared by comparatively inexperienced 
students, the data and maps obtained have shown a creditable 



2 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

degree of accuracy and have in most instances proved of con- 
siderable value to the company. 

The tract studied in the spring of 1912 at Crossett, Arkansas, 
is exceptionally well adapted to forest growth, and illustrates in 
a striking manner the possibility which presents itself to lumber- 
men throughout the South of modifying their methods of logging 
so as to get a second cut. During the six years of investigation 
in different southern states, the School has ascertained that prob- 
ably over wide areas of longleaf and shortleaf pine the stand 
should be only partially removed in the first operation, leaving a 
fairly large percentage for a second cut in from fifteen to twenty 
years. If properly carried out this policy will secure a satis- 
factory rate of interest on the value of the timber left standing. 
This will be attained by rapid growth in volume and advance in 
stumpage values. Apparently it does not involve great expense 
at the present time. 

PRESENT POLICY IN THE SOUTH 

The present policy of most holders of stumpage in the South 
is clear cutting, which is followed by accidental or intentional 
broadcast burning of the slash, and sale of the land to settlers 
or land companies ; and this is attempted in spite of the fact that 
there is at present no urgent demand for much of this pine land 
and that these timber companies still have ten to thirty years' 
cut in sight. 

A few farsighted firms have attempted in places to limit the 
present cut to a certain diameter, reserving the small trees for 
a future crop. This is a move in the right direction, yet analysis 
shows that adherence to such a rigid diameter limit does not 
leave the most vigorous trees. It is not good business deliberately 
to leave an investment in the woods and secure only 3 per cent 
increase when, with the proper supervision, 6 or 7 per cent might be 
obtained on the same capital, yet that is just what is being done 
by most operators who are planning on a second cut. The others 
are neglecting an opportunity to prolong their business, lessen 
their annual depreciation charges, and secure future increase in 
stumpage values. 

Clear cutting may be justified by the relative inaccessibility of 
the tract, making it unprofitable to return for a small second 
cut. Again, the land may be needed at once for agriculture, 
or the stumpage may be purchased without the land and require 
cutting clear. In most instances, however, this practice is due to 
lack of confidence in the methods demanded and absence of authori- 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 3 

tative information as to the growth and financial returns obtain- 
able by leaving a stand for later removal. 

While actual demonstration of results is the most convincing 
argument, it requires that some companies make the attempt, else 
the time will come when there will no longer be an incentive to 
existing firms to cut conservatively. A mill with twenty years' 
cut ahead is in better position to try out the plan than one with 
but five years to run. Even without such a demonstration it is 
possible to predict with fair accuracy the growth that will occur 
after cutting and to outline measures which will assure a second 
crop. 

REPORT ON LANDS IN ASHLEY COUNTY, ARKANSAS 

The report of the Class of 1912, Yale Forest School, to the 
Crossett Lumber Company, on their tract in Ashley County, 
Arkansas, is presented herewith. This report deals with local con- 
ditions. Previous work of the School in Louisiana and Texas indi- 
cates that similar conclusions may be drawn for the better and 
more accessible areas of longleaf and shortleaf pine throughout the 
South. 

MAPPING THE TRACT 

The area covered by this report includes approximately 27,000 
acres lying south of Crossett, partly in Arkansas and partly in 
Louisiana. The greatest difference in elevation is about 150 feet 
and the country is either flat or gently rolling, with occasional 
abrupt slopes. Logging roads can be laid out with little regard 
to topography. This greatly lessens the value of a topographic 
map, but for purposes of instruction one was prepared on a scale 
of 2,000 feet to the inch, with horizontal contours showing 5-foot 
differences in elevation. Upon this map streams, dry gulches 
and roads were shown. 

The timber areas were plotted on the map in distinctive colors, 
according to character of stand. The stands shown are as follows : 

(a) Mature pine timber chiefly of large size with insufficient 
young timber to justify a second cut. 

(b) Pine timber of all ages containing enough young timber 
to justify a second cut. 

(c) Brush land with hardwoods and scattered pine averaging 
less than 1,000 feet b.m. of pine per acre. 

(d) Cut-over pine land with practically all mature pine 
removed. 



4 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

(e) Pine in old abandoned fields, usually a dense stand. 

(f) Hardwood lands, usually bottomland with little pine. 

In addition to the areas mentioned above, cleared lands under 
cultivation or in pasture are shown. 

ESTIMATE AND DESCRIPTION 

A timber estimate and full notes on the stand were made for 
the area covered by the map. The work was done by the students 
after eight days of training in timber estimating, and allowances 
must be made for lack, of experience and for variation in individ- 
ual ability of the men. The method used was to count the trees 
in strips on half the area, correcting for differences in the stand 
where the timber stood unevenly on the remainder. One-third of 
the counted trees were measured by eye and tally kept of diameters 
and of the number of logs in each tree. The contents of these 
trees in board feet was derived from a table prepared from 300 
felled trees on the tract. The stand on each "forty" was computed 
from this count and tally. 

A percentage was deducted for loss from rot, and where there 
was damage from insects or windfall it was stated in percentage 
of the standing timber. The character of the merchantable tim- 
ber was briefly described with reference to the size of the logs, 
clear length and percentage of grades under "uppers," "No. 1 
common," "No. 2 common," and lower grades, thus giving some 
idea of the relative value of the timber. The quantity and charac- 
ter of small or immature timber was noted, including its size and 
age and the area covered. The purpose of this description was to 
record the conditions on each "forty" so completely that no further 
examination would be necessary for any purpose. 

COMPOSITION OF THE FOREST 

The pine timber on this tract is composed of shortleaf and 
loblolly pine in almost equal mixture. This fact is unimportant 
from the market standpoint, because the two species are of 
practically equal value and not easily separated when manufac- 
tured into lumber. Loblolly grows almost pure on the lower 
flats and frequently forms pure stands on abandoned fields. It 
gradually gives place to shortleaf on drier soils and on the driest 
the shortleaf grows pure. 

Pine forms almost pure stands on all the higher lands. It has 
the ability to resist droughts, which are frequent and severe 
during the growing season, the months of April, May and June. 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 5 

The droughts seriously interfere with the development of hard- 
woods on these soils and the only hardwood growth is a few very 
stunted and deformed oaks from which some timber is cut. Better 
hardwoods, including white and black oaks and some sweet gum 
and hickory, appear near streams where the soil is fairly well 
drained, moist and deep. The true hardwood stands occupy the 
bottoms, which are subject to overflow and where there is com- 
paratively little pine reproduction. These lands were under water 
in the spring of 1912 during the unusual floods of that year and 
were not examined. 

DAMAGE 

The mature pine is fairly sound. Old stands show a large 
amount of red rot and a lesser amount of butt rot, although the 
cull seldom exceeds 10 per cent of the volume on any "forty" and 
averages less than 3 per cent. 

Fire has done very little injury to the timber. A small percent- 
age of the trees show scarred butts, often due to the burning out 
of faces chipped off to test the grain for shingle bolts. Most of 
the timber is sound at the base and escapes injury from ordinary 
surface fires. 

The greatest loss to the timber results from wind. This is 
due to the soil, which in many sections is underlaid with hardpan 
from two to five feet below the surface, into which the tap root 
of the pine cannot penetrate. In consequence the tree is entirely 
dependent on the spreading lateral roots for its support. In 
very wet seasons, like the spring of 1912, the soil becomes quite 
soft. Often a heavy wind will uproot many trees. Some sections 
are more subject to wind damage than others and, through 
repeated losses, the forest there has assumed a clump-like, many- 
aged form. This condition is doubtless due to the presence of 
hardpan nearer to the surface than on the tracts showing less 
windfall. Tornadoes are very rare, although there have been one 
or two instances of very heavy loss over a limited area, necessitat- 
ing immediate logging. More often scattered single trees, includ- 
ing young, small poles as well as older and larger timber, will go 
down here and there. Weak roots and resulting poor anchorage, 
rather than undue exposure to wind, seem to determine which trees 
blow over. 

Insect damage is present on almost all sections examined. The 
bark-boring pine beetles (Dendroctonus sp.) are continually 
killing trees, both among the old timber and crowded young stands. 
Occasionally 5 per cent of the trees may be killed within three or 
four years. The insects first attack trees which are sickly or 



6 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

weakened and those tend to become centers of infection. If con- 
ditions are favorable, the insects may increase very rapidly and 
destroy the pine timber over wide areas. Under ordinary condi- 
tions their natural enemies, such as woodpeckers, keep the insects 
from doing excessive damage. Areas badly infested with beetles 
should be logged as soon as possible in order to lessen the danger 
of the beetles spreading to adjacent areas. 

AGE CLASSES 

The age of the pine timber in this vicinity rarely exceeds 150 
years, although occasional very old trees may reach 200 years. 
Much of it is approximately even-aged, but seldom continuous 
over very large areas. It is more likely to be broken up into 
different age classes, clumps of large, overmature trees being 
interspersed among groups of young timber, small poles or 
seedlings. 

On much of the pine land old timber occupies the soil to the 
exclusion of young growth. The spread of the roots of very 
large trees is much greater than that of their crowns, due in part 
to the great demand of old trees for moisture. Owing to this 
wide spread of the roots, old stands, even when fairly open, do not 
contain much young timber until the old trees begin to disappear 
from weakness due to rot, or destruction by insects, wind or 
lightning. The final form of such a stand is a few scattered old 
trees of large size in a forest of young timber of various sizes 
and ages. 

REPRODUCTION OF PINE 

Pine seedlings spring up readily everywhere, provided the seed 
reaches mineral soil. Surface fires are a great help in preparing 
a suitable seedbed. Seeds seldom, if ever, germinate on pine litter 
or hardwood leaves and not readily in grass. Abandoned fields 
that have been cultivated afford an excellent seedbed, but old 
pastures reforest very slowly. The conditions after logging, 
where the ground has been torn up by skidding, are excellent for 
pine reproduction. The only reason there are not more seedlings 
in the forest before logging is that they cannot live under the old 
timber. They often require more light than is available, but the 
most important factor is the soil moisture. The seedlings are 
killed in dry seasons by the old trees, which deprive them of mois- 
ture. Reproduction on cut-over lands is either destroyed by fire 
or prevented from starting through lack of seed trees. 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 7 

Old-field stands constitute an important part of the forest. 
Many of them are about forty-five years old and already large 
enough to cut. These stands are dense with sixty to eighty trees 
per acre, and the timber is frequently very limby because it has 
grown on open fields and with full crown development. This and 
the rapid growth of the timber reduce the quality and make it a 
poor logging proposition compared with the better grades and 
sizes of the older timber. These old-field stands will, in time, 
however, yield large crops of timber and of very good quality. 
A large percentage of the trees are, through crowding, already 
cleared of branches and from now on will, if thinned out, and 
the remaining trees given room to grow, add clear material at a 
rapid rate. At present many old-field stands are so densely 
stocked that the trees are making slower growth than they should. 

GROWTH OF PINE 

The rate of growth of both shortleaf and loblolly pine in this 
locality is rapid; it exceeds that found elsewhere the School has 
studied it. 

Table 1. — Average Growth in Diameter Breast High Outside 

Bark of Shortleaf and Loblolly Pine in 

Ashley County, Arkansas. 

(Basis 200 Trees) 



Age, 
Years. 


Diameter, 

breast high. 

Inches. 


10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
70 
80 
90 
100 


2.0 
4.7 
7.3 
9.5 
11.6 
13.6 
15.6 
17.5 
19.2 
20.6 



Table 1 gives the average diameter outside the bark at breast 
height (41/0 feet) of trees of different ages from 10 to 100 years. 
It is based upon the measurement of 200 trees. 

Since these species grow in mixture over most of the tract, 
it was thought best to obtain an average figure for both species 
rather than to determine the growth separately for each. 

This rate of growth of about an inch every four years during 
the first forty years or an inch every five years for the entire 100 



8 



Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 



years is for average trees, and shows that timber reaches mer- 
chantable dimensions from seed in from forty to fifty years. This 
is borne out by the growth of old-field stands. Six plots of five 
acres each measured in old-field stands showed yields of from 
7,500 feet b.m. to 14,200 feet b.m. per acre, with ages from 
forty to forty-seven years. The more rapidly growing trees reach 
merchantable size in thirty years and old-field stands will yield 
2,000 to 3,000 feet b.m. per acre when thirty-five years of age. 
In the next few years the yield of merchantable timber rapidly 
increases as the trees attain merchantable size. 



Table 2. — Average Yield per Acre of Even-Aged Stands of Shortleaf 
Pine, Under Ordinary Conditions, on Large Areas 
in Ashley County, Arkansas. 

(Doyle Rule) 







Average 


Age of Stand, 


Yield per Acre, 


Growth per 


Years. 


Board Feet. 


Year, 
Board Feet. 


50 


6,000 


100 


60 


6,600 


no 


70 


8,100 


116 


80 


9,600 


120 


90 


11,000 


122 


100 


12,400 


124 


110 


13,600 


124 


120 


14,800 


123 


130 


15,800 


121 


140 


16,600 


118 


150 


17,200 


115 



Dense stands with a large number of trees per acre, such as 
occur on old fields, cannot maintain both numbers and rapid 
growth. The increasing demands of larger trees for soil moisture 
during the growing season cause the number of trees which can 
continue to thrive on an acre to diminish rapidly. When most 
of the trees are of nearly the same age and height, the crowding 
out of the weaker trees does not take place as rapidly as it should, 
and the growth of all the trees may be seriously retarded. In the 
ordinary forest the same crowding and loss of numbers occur, but 
the more broken and irregular character of the stand makes it less 
pronounced. Under average conditions yields of timber can be 
depended on to equal or exceed the results given in Table 2. 

In fact, better yields per acre than this are obtained in the 
virgin forest on many "forties," and with any sort of management 
which secures good reproduction and affords protection, these 
yields should be increased by one-half, as is shown by the yields 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 9 

actually obtained on old-field stands. In other words, these are 
in no sense maximum yields, but may be obtained under almost any 
circumstances and without expensive measures. 

These yields, shown in Table 2, may be increased from 50 to 
100 per cent under proper management. 

MANAGEMENT OF THE TRACT 

The company desires to maintain as long as possible the present 
output. The estimate of merchantable timber indicates a cut of 
approximately eighteen years. The company believes that growth 
and the increase on old-field stands will extend the cut two years. 
The depreciation charge and investment in the plant have, there- 
fore, only twenty years to run. If it can be shown that, by a 
different procedure, growth may be more fully utilized and the cut 
extended even two or three years, this policy would have much 
to recommend it from a financial standpoint. 



AGRICULTURAL POSSIBILITIES 

The land will not be kept permanently in forest by the present 
company and it is planned ultimately to dispose of it as farm 
lands. Old settlers do not consider the pine ridges suitable for 
continuous cropping and favor the lower lands, not overflowed, 
along small streams. These soils have better depth, more loamy 
texture and produce fair crops of corn, cotton or cane, while the 
pine ridges are likely to dry out and result in crop failures. With 
proper fertilization, improved methods of cultivation, better mar- 
kets and the advent of truck crops, small fruits and orchards, 
much of this land will prove valuable for agricultural use. 

The company is probably pursuing the proper policy in plan- 
ning to dispose of the entire tract at some future time. But this 
by no means proves that it is unwise to encourage a crop of seed- 
ling pine on cut-over lands. In twenty years such seedlings will 
be five inches in diameter and with increasing scarcity of pine, 
and the small percentage of lands elsewhere that are coming up 
in young forest, this small timber will give the land a prospective 
value that may equal or exceed its value for agriculture and would 
aid greatly in its sale. By that time purchasers will be keenly 
alive to the value of young timber on land, even if desired for agri- 
culture. Such portions of the farm as are not under cultivation 
should be in growing forest. 



10 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

SECURING A SECOND CUT OF PINE 

The desire of the company to secure some return from growth 
has taken the form of instructions not to cut trees smaller than 
fourteen inches on the stump, equal to about twelve inches breast 
high. The carrying out of this rule is left entirely to the sawyers, 
under the rather hurried and indifferent inspection of the team 
boss. The method is an almost complete failure, for the following 
reasons : 

(1) There is lack of proper inspection of the saw crews, who 
do practically as they please about taking or leaving trees. 

(2) A diameter limit is wrong in application as it removes 
young, thrifty, rapidly growing trees if over fourteen inches and 
leaves standing tall, slender, poor-crowned old trees of very slow 
growth which ought to be cut. 

(3) Trees are not selected for wind resistance and many trees 
so left will blow over because of weak roots. 

(4) In stands of overmature timber often there are virtually 
no trees below fourteen inches in diameter that are suitable to 
leave. 

(5) At present, trees left are not adequately protected from 
destruction by fires which consume the tops and debris after log- 
ging. They are apt to be a total loss from this cause. 

(6) While leaving this nucleus for a second cut, no effort is 
made to protect smaller timber, which is often smashed in felling, 
slashed down for skids to support temporary spurs in wet weather, 
and burned by slash fires. 

The sawyers are under instructions not to fell trees onto groups 
of small timber, but inspection is necessary to secure proper com- 
pliance with this or other rules. 

CONDITION OF THE CUT-OVER LANDS 

The condition of the cut-over land is at present very unsatis- 
factory. Only in widely scattered, occasional patches is enough 
young timber found to pay for a second operation. Elsewhere 
there has been practically no timber left standing and severe 
fires have burned the slash, destroying the immature pole timber. 
In places a dense crop of seedlings has sprung up, but over 
the greater portion of the cut-over lands fires and the lack of 
seed trees have prevented a new growth of pine, and only grass, 
worthless oaks and scrub sweet gum are coming in. 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 11 

PROPOSED PLAN FOR SECURING A BETTER 
SECOND CUT 

The company should either abandon the plan of leaving trees 
below fourteen inches in diameter or it should adopt an entirely 
different policy involving the selection of the trees to leave and the 
proper handling of the fire risk. The latter policy appears best, 
provided it can be shown that it is comparatively simple to enforce 
and that it will result profitably. This involves the following 
essential points : 

(1) Stands net suitable for a second cut should be cut clear 
unless a few seed trees are left to restock the land. 

(2) In stands which contain suitable young timber the trees 
to be removed should be marked and no others should be cut. 

(3) Proper disposal of the tops must be secured under inspec- 
tion to eliminate the fire risk and preserve the timber left standing. 

RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTAL MARKING FOR A 
SECOND CUT 

To present the subject concretely, certain areas were mapped 
and separated into (a) those upon which the timber was mature 
and not suitable for a second cut, and (b) those which were well 
adapted to a second cut because they contained young timber. 
The mature stands from which it will be difficult to secure a 
second cut were marked so as to leave for seeding purposes only 
healthy, rapidly growing trees as small as possible, which would 
stand until, the next cut twenty years hence. This policy is not 
recommended except where the company decides that the securing 
of a complete stand of seedlings on the cut-over lands will justify 
the present expense. 

On 200 acres so marked, the stand averaged 14,000 feet b.m. 
per acre, or 560,000 feet b.m. per "forty." By proper selection 
the seed trees selected contained 1,050 feet b.m. per acre or 
42,000 feet b.m. per "forty," which is 7.5 per cent of the stand. 
The total number of trees per "forty" was 800, or 20 per acre ; this 
would be reduced by the proposed cut to 150, or 3.75 trees per 
acre, which is 18 per cent of the whole number. It is evident from 
this that comparatively small trees were selected. The growth 
added to the seed trees will, because of their size, probably be 
between 2 and 3 per cent a year, or a possible 200 to 300 feet 
b.m. in ten years. In twenty years, the yield from these trees 
would probably be increased to 1,500 feet b.m. per acre. The 



12 



Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 



actual sizes taken and left in each inch class on an average forty 
acres containing 810 trees are shown in Table 3. 

Table 3. — Stand of Timber on an Average Forty Acres of Mature and 
Old Shortleaf and Loblolly Pine in Ashley County, Arkansas, 
Showing Total Number of Trees, Those to be Removed, and Those 
That Would Remain. 



Diameter, 

breast high, 

inches. 


Total No. of 


Trees to be 


Trees to be 


trees. 


removed. 


left standing. 


12 


50 


26 


24 


13 


30 


15 


15 


14 


30 


16 


14 


15 


25 


10 


15 


16 


37 


21 


16 


17 


35 


22 


13 


18 


42 


29 


13 


19 


31 


23 


8 


20 


47 


38 


9 


21 


38 


33 


5 


22 


52 


47 


5 


23 


40 


36 


4 


24 


55 


51 


4 


25 


45 


43 


2 


26 


43 


42 


1 


27 


36 


37 


1 


28 


38 


36 


1 


29 


23 


23 


— 


30 


26 


26 


1 


31 


16 


16 


— 


32 


17 


17 


— 


33 


12 


12 


— 


34 


13 


13 


— 


35 


6 


6 


— 


36 


8 


8 


— 


37 


2 


2 


— 


38 


4 


4 


— 


39 


1 


1 


— 


40 


4 


4 


— 


41 


1 


1 


— 


42 


1 


1 


— 


Over 








42 


2 


2 


— 


810 


658 


152 



Number of Trees Left. 





118 
34 




152 





On areas adapted to a second cut, tabulation of actual marking 
on 200 acres shows the following results: average stand per acre, 
8,129 feet b.m. ; on forty acres, 347,292 feet b.m. ; average stand 
per acre to be left after cutting, 1,805 feet b.m.; on forty acres, 
79,300 feet b.m. Thus 22.2 per cent of the stand or 1,800 feet 
b.m. would be left as against 7.5 per cent or 1,050 feet b.m. in 
mature timber. The younger stands contained 1,051 trees 12 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 



13 



inches and over, "breast high," on an average "forty," or 26.2 
trees per acre. Stands composed wholly of young timber would have 
about 50 trees per acre. In the mixed stands, 457 trees would be 
left on a "forty" or 11.4 trees per acre, which is 43.5 per cent of 
the total number but only 22.2 per cent of the volume. How wide 
a departure from the rigid diameter limit the proper selection of 
trees makes is shown for an average "forty" in Table 4. In the 
method of individual selection it is seen that about one-third of the 
trees below 15 inches, one-half of those between 15 and 17 inches, 
and practically all 20 inches and over are to be removed. A few 
above 20 inches are to be left to provide seed for openings made by 
cutting large groups of old timber. They can be removed in the 
first cut if thought best. 

Table 4. — Stand of Timber on an Average Forty Acres of Mixed Young 
and Mature Shortleaf and Loblolly Pine in Ashley County, 
Arkansas, Showing Total Number Trees to be Removed and Those 
That Would Remain. 



Diameter, 


Total No. of 


Trees to be 


Trees to be 


breast high. 


trees. 


removed. 


left standing. 


12 


163 


67 


96 


13 


128 


50 


78 


14 


119 


48 


71 


15 


112 


56 


56 


16 


99 


48 


51 


17 


84 


42 


42 


18 


66 


37 


29 


19 


42 


30 


12 


20 


38 


29 


9 


21 


24 


19 


5 


22 


21 


18 


3 


23 


18 


16 


2 


24 


20 


18 


2 


25 


16 


15 


1 


26 


15 


15 


— 


27 


11 


11 


— 


28 


12 


12 





29 


9 


9 





30 


8 


8 


— 


31 


6 


6 


— 


32 


5 


5 


— 


33 


6 


6 





34 


6 


6 


— 


35 


4 


4 


— 


36 


4 


4 


— 


37 


1 


1 


— 


38 


2 


2 


— 


39 


1 


1 


— 


40 


5 


5 


— 


Over 40 


6 


6 


— 


1,051 


594 


457 



Number of Trees Left. 



Below 20 inches, d. b. h 


435 
22 


Total 


457 





14 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

NECESSITY OF MARKING TREES TO BE CUT 

It is necessary to mark the trees to be cut instead of depending 
on an arbitrary diameter limit for the following reasons: 

(1) Windfall. Opening a stand greatly increases the danger 
of windfall. Trees differ greatly in their wind resistance. Those 
growing in crowded clumps have weak roots, while thrifty trees 
growing in partial openings have well-developed roots. By selec- 
tion of wind-firm trees to be left the danger of windfall in the 
remaining stand may be reduced to reasonable proportions. 

(2) Growth. The purpose of leaving these trees is to secure 
growth which should be as rapid as possible. But trees differ 
remarkably in their rate of growth, a fact that can be verified by 
cutting into a few at random and counting annual rings of growth 
in the last inch of radius. The trees best to leave for the second 
crop are those making the largest growth per cent, based on the 
present volume of the tree. A small thrifty tree makes a higher 
growth per cent than a large tree because the volume of the former 
is less at present and the relative increase is much greater. The 
character of the crown indicates the vigor of the tree, since the 
growth is directly dependent on the amount of foliage, which, in 
turn, is determined by the available light and root space. Rapidly 
growing trees are sure to have thrifty, large and well-developed 
crowns. This can be told at a glance after a few days' practice. 

(3) Soundness. All trees left should be free from rot, and 
sound at the base to lessen fire injury. Many trees below 14* 
inches in diameter are defective and unsuitable for leaving and 
should be removed. 

(4) Welfare of the whole stand. Many stands of young tim- 
ber are too crowded to make good growth during the next twenty 
years. Such stands should be thinned of about half of the trees, 
leaving, independent of diameter, those which show good crowns, 
a clear length and fast growth, and removing large, limby trees, 
and small, stunted, or slow-growing trees with poor crowns, and 
those that are defective or crooked. 

GROWTH IN THINNED STANDS 

If cutting is done on the basis of a rigid diameter limit, at least 
half the trees left will make poor growth. But if every tree left 
is properly selected the growth to be expected in ten years is 
indicated by measurements taken on 70 acres containing 8,837 
feet b.m. per acre. The trees to be left after proper marking 
contained 2,630 feet b.m. per acre, or 30 per cent of the whole, 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 15 

which during the next ten years should amount to 4s,4>66 feet b.m., 
which is an increase of 70 per cent in volume on the trees left 
standing. 

This is explained as follows. The calculated growth of the 
trees now 12 inches and over in diameter will be 1,206 feet b.m. 
per acre, and the trees now below 12 inches in diameter which will 
grow to be over 12 inches in ten years will add 639 feet b.m. per 
acre, giving a total of 1,836 board feet. The stand to be left 
after cutting, viz., 2,630 feet b.m. per acre, is slightly better than 
the average, which will be nearer 1,800 feet b.m. per acre. The 
growth per cent, which includes the maturing of trees now too 
small to cut, is conservative and might well exceed the above esti- 
mate of 70 per cent in ten years on all such stands. The reason 
for their rapid increase in volume is that the trees are in the best 
condition and of the best sizes for growth, while the removal of all 
slow-growing and large timber increases the relative average 
growth on those remaining. 

GROWTH IN VIRGIN STANDS 

The growth in virgin stands of pine in the next decade is deter- 
mined by the age and condition of the timber. Stands from which 
the old, overmature trees have been removed present quite a dif- 
ferent condition from that existing on the average "forty" of 
virgin timber. After trees have reached a certain size and age, 
they lose vitality, and succumb to heart-rot, insects or wind. The 
loss of one old tree, unless it can be logged, will offset ten years' 
growth on a great many others. Hence, if the stand contains a 
large proportion of old and large trees, it is probably not increas- 
ing in volume at all but the reverse, while the value of the standing 
timber may be sinking because of the progress of decay. 

Owing to the tendency of these pines to grow in even-aged 
groups, and to the operation of natural destructive agencies, an 
even distribution of age classes from overmature to seedlings is 
seldom found on an area as small as forty acres. The timber 
will be largely overmature veterans, or young and thrifty, and 
the volume of the stand be actually decreasing, stagnant or 
increasing according to the age class which preponderates. On 
large areas it may happen that the annual decay and loss in 
virgin forests just equals the annual growth, while for any one 
stand this same balance will be attained in the course of time. 

The tract of 70 acres selected for the study of growth after 
thinning and removal of mature timber contained a larger propor- 
tion of young thrifty trees than is found in typical overmature 



16 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

stands. A study of the probable growth on this same area 
indicated that if the stand were not cut, the growth in ten years 
would amount to 3,299 feet b.m., or 36 per cent of the present 
stand, making a total of 12,068 feet b.m. It thus appears that 
in stands similar to those selected, nearly twice the actual volume 
growth would be secured if the stand were not thinned than can 
be expected after thinning. Owing to the greatly reduced 
volume of the stand after thinning and the much greater average 
growth of the remaining trees, compared with those removed, the 
growth per cent, or ratio of growth to volume of stand on the 
thinned or cut-over tract, is double the per cent growth secured 
in the virgin stand. The stands selected represent those in good 
condition for growth, and not those containing a surplus of over- 
mature timber. A reduction in the number of trees to 40 per cent 
of the former stand might be expected to reduce the growth in 
the next decade, and usually does so. Only in "forties" of over- 
mature timber is there apt to be a net increase in growth after 
thinning, and this is due to elimination of loss from natural agen- 
cies. Even then, a fair stand of young timber must be present, as 
a basis for the second cut, to secure this result. 

It is important, therefore, to emphasize the real advantage 
gained by leaving the smaller and thriftier trees for a second cut. 
This lies, as indicated, in the very large increase in growth per 
cent, obtained after thinning, upon the investment thus made. 
The leaving of virgin timber, even when thrifty, involves an 
investment measured by the volume, quality and stumpage value 
of the stand. Clear cutting terminates this investment. The 
growth in volume in virgin stands must be considered, not alone, 
but in its relation to the existing volume of the stand in which 
it is produced. While the growth in actual volume falls off as 
the result of removing four-fifths of the stand, the growth per 
cent of the remaining stand is twice what it was before the cutting. 

INCREASE IN VALUE OF SECOND CUT 

Seven per cent per year in volume does not represent the true 
increase in value of these thinned stands. The lumber produced 
from selected trees will be of high quality and value since they will 
be freer from knots and other defects. If stumpage values 
advance, this increase will be still greater. It is safe to count 
on 10 per cent annual increase in value of properly marked 
stands containing the requisite quantity of young timber after 
cutting. These same stands would give scarcely 5 per cent 
increase in value per year before they are cut over, most of 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 17 

which would be due to increased stumpage values rather than 
growth. 

BRUSH DISPOSAL 

The mature trees are fairly safe from fire injury before logging, 
but the burning of the slash following logging will destroy prac- 
tically all young timber. This menace can be avoided with slight 
additional expense. The remaining trees are able to endure any 
fire that is no hotter than the average surface fire that consumes 
six to eight years' accumulation of litter and needles. To avoid 
injury to the trees left after logging, it will be necessary (1) to 
keep the tops of the fallen timber about ten feet away from young 
standing trees; (2) to burn these tops when the flames will not be 
too hot, but will consume most of the needles and small twigs. 

The first object may be accomplished at the time of logging by 
felling the trees away from small timber, and by lopping branches 
from tops which lie too close to young timber. It may occasion- 
ally be necessary to drag small tops away from young trees. The 
work can be done at slight expense by utilization of the present 
force under proper supervision. 

Cutting and piling the tops cannot be justified for private 
operations in southern yellow pine. The burning must be done 
broadcast. Fire should be set in the slash as soon as possible 
after logging, but always when conditions are favorable. The 
rule should be to burn as soon as fire will take hold and never after 
the weather becomes dry and hot. To prevent hot fires in the 
slash otrrS^f the summer months, all land should be burned over 
before logging and again as soon as possible afterwards, unless 
it seems feasible to keep fire out until rains occur. The problem 
of safe burning without injury to the remaining timber rests on 
intelligent supervision. 

If the reserve timber is brought through this first burning, it 
can be successfully protected from subsequent fires, and it will be 
in condition to seed down the whole area and give rise to an 
abundant crop of seedlings. After the first six to eight years the 
settlings will be large enough to survive moderate surface fires. 

FINANCIAL ASPECTS 

Since the leaving of a portion of the stand which would other- 
wise be cut takes the form of an investment, the probable returns 
should be calculated. Assuming that 2,630 feet b.m. per acre 
left standing will increase in ten years to 4*,4<66 feet b.m., this 
computation is easily made. 



18 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

With land valued at $5 per acre and stumpage at $5 per thou- 
sand, this investment should, after paying all expenses, yield 5 
per cent compound interest at the end of ten years. Assuming 
an initial cost of marking of 10 cents per acre, and allowing 5 
cents per 1,000 feet b.m. for lopping and burning the tops, an 
average stand of 8,000 feet b.m. gives an expense of 50 cents 
per acre. Tops can be piled and burned for from 25 to 50 cents 
per 1,000 feet b.m., and without piling, the expense is greatly 
reduced. The following is a summary of the initial investment : 

2,630 feet b.m. @ $5 $13.15 

Land 5 . 00 

Marking and brush disposal .50 

Total initial investment $18.65 per acre. 

Assuming there is a tax of 1 per cent on this valuation gives 
18 cents per year. Fire protection if undertaken should not cost 
over 2 cents per acre, making a total of 20 cents per year for 
taxes and protection. Capitalizing at 5 per cent, this would mean 
an investment of $4 per acre. This makes a total investment of 
$22.65, which at 5 per cent compound interest amounts to $36.89 
in ten years. At that time if the land is still valued at $5 and the 
$4 capital used to supply the 20 cents annual charge is credited, 
the net cost of the timber in ten years at 5 per cent compound 
interest is $27.89. 

At this time the stand will contain 4t,4>66 feet b.m. per acre. 
If it is worth $27.89, it has paid 5 per cent, which is equivalent 
to a stumpage value of $6.25 per thousand. It is fair to assume 
that this increase in price will occur in the ten-year period. 

If the lands cut over are not left in a productive condition, they 
will lie idle until sold. No interest on the investment will be 
earned during this time, but taxes will continue and the total loss 
should be gauged by the compound interest on the money invested 
in non-productive lands. The price of land may rise, in which 
case the increased value will tend to offset this loss of interest. 
This would occur whether or not the land were cut over. 

If the lands are not cut over, the original uneven-aged growth 
will probably increase in value, but at half or less than half the 
rate per cent on the investment that it would if culled of dead or 
unproductive capital. In either of the above cases, these lands 
as a whole, with growth balancing decay, are carried by the com- 
pany at much greater relative cost than if put into condition for 
growth. 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 19 

Once the land is cut over properly, the investment in this second 
cut will carry itself independent of all other portions of the opera- 
tion, and the investment left in the woods or spent for protection 
or taxes will, as a rule, be returned with 5 per cent compound 
interest when the final cutting is made. 

Cutting should, therefore, be confined as much as possible to 
stands which are suitable for a second crop, since the sooner these 
are cut over the greater will be the amount of growth secured 
before the close of the whole operation. An exception to this 
rule is timber which is very old and decadent, which should be 
cut as soon as possible. But unless there is rapid deterioration, 
it will pay to hold mature timber for better prices. 

ADMINISTRATION 

The present superintendent of logging, the camp foremen and 
the team bosses are fully occupied with the details of the work as 
now conducted. Two extra employees are needed to assure proper 
enforcement of the provisions outlined to secure a second cut. 
One man could begin as saw boss and, while engaged at first 
chiefly in eliminating waste, direct or supervise the felling and 
secure the requisite amount of top lopping. Burning could be 
done by one or two laborers under his supervision. 

The marking of the timber might easily be done by a second 
man who should cover a maximum of forty to fifty acres per day. 
Both of these men could be woodsmen or laborers of the better and 
more capable class. The saw boss would prevent more than enough 
waste to pay his salary, leaving the wages of the other man as a 
charge against the second crop. If, by his marking, the returns 
from growth can be increased from 1,000 to 1,800 feet b.m. per 
acre, which is a fair estimate of the improved growth resulting 
from the proper selection of trees, the net result of marking forty 
acres is an increased yield of 32,000 feet b.m. in ten years. At 
this rate the investment in wages for marking shows a good 
profit over the system of rigid diameter limits in cutting. 

It is recommended that a forester familiar with southern pine 
be employed to train the woodsman in marking. The principles 
of marking are easily applied, but must be learned by actual 
demonstration before ordinary woodsmen can be trusted to carry 
them out successfully. The forester should classify the land on 
the basis of the second cut, make a type and timber map, and 
exercise supervision over brush disposal. He should study the 
cut-over lands, and the problem of windfalls and insect attacks, 
and be responsible for the efficient direction of all operations 
connected with prolonging the cut. 



20 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

Special attention must early be given to windfall, because 
damage from this source is most likely to occur within a year or 
two after the cutting. 

SUSTAINED PRODUCTION OF TIMBER 

It would be possible under proper management to maintain a 
perpetual supply of timber on the holdings of this company, but 
the present cut could not be sustained. Studies of possible yields 
on 9,000 acres showed that, under proper management and by 
cutting the large timber first, a cut of 150 feet b.m. per acre 
can be maintained for 100 years from the timber now on the 
ground. The mean annual yield on lands of average stocking is 
125 feet b.m. (See Table 2.) Some land yields more than this, as, 
for instance, old fields, while much, land, because of poor stocking, 
is yielding less. A large per cent of the total forest area is 
now occupied by stands considerably more than 100 years old. 
The cut of 150 feet b.m. per year could be obtained, first, by a 
removal of the present surplus of old timber, and second, from 
actual growth. This figure was arrived at by computing the pos- 
sible cut and probably growth on several tracts averaging about 
2,000 acres each, on which the area of timber of each age class 
was known from field reconnaissance. This would include the cut- 
ting of all young timber and seedlings now growing, but would 
not include new crops of seedlings to be obtained in the future. 
One hundred years will allow the production of large timber with 
a high percentage of "uppers," probably 25 per cent. By cutting 
the present crops in seventy years a somewhat larger cut per year 
would be obtained for that period through a more rapid removal 
of the old timber, but the timber from then on would have to be 
cut when much smaller and less valuable if the cut is to continue. 

With 150 feet b.m. per year, an annual cut of 15,000,000 feet 
b.m. could be obtained on a tract of 100,000 acres. Should such 
a policy be followed it would mean the saving of trees in mature 
stands to act as seed trees ; the elimination of fire from cut-over 
lands for six to eight years after the slash had been burned; and 
it would stimulate the retention of lands in forests which would 
otherwise be sold for agricultural purposes. 

The two most important questions, aside from the greater use- 
fulness of the soil for agricultural purposes, are future trans- 
portation and logging costs, and future taxes. The logging 
operations on 100,000 acres managed for a second cut would be 
more scattered, with smaller cuts per acre and consequent 
increased costs. Taxes may increase greatly unless the education 



Possibilities of a Second Cut 21 

of the public on questions of public policy secures equitable tax 
laws, which will prevent unjust burdens of taxation on growing 
timber. 

The forest itself is well adapted to continuous production. The 
unlogged portions present a complete series of age classes, which 
would enable the inauguration and perpetual maintenance of an 
annual cut. On the 9,000 acres studied there was of overmature 
or decadent timber, 1,890 acres, or 21 per cent; large sound, 
mature timber, 2,070 acres, or 23 per cent; small, merchantable 
timber, 12 inches and over in diameter, 1,710 acres, or 19 per cent; 
and of immature growing timber, poles and saplings, 2,880 acres, 
or 32 per cent ; cleared farmland, 450 acres, or 5 per cent. 

To a greater or less degree this proportion would hold good 
on most of the timberlands studied, although the percentage of 
overmature and large timber is greater in Louisiana. 

Because of the large investment in mills and transportation, 
under present conditions, all that can be expected is a well-directed 
effort to obtain growth on the younger timber which is now large 
enough to cut or will become so inside of twenty years. At the 
end of that time, with all mature timber cut, it would be no longer 
possible to cut 150 feet b.m. per year and even if the reproduc- 
tion of seedlings had been secured and the small pole timber left 
unharmed, the possible output from 100,000 acres would be very 
small for the succeeding thirty to forty years. If fires are per- 
mitted to run through the slash promiscuously and in the hottest 
weather, as is now the case, much of this cut-over land will 
be virtually devoid of any pine growth for a century, unless 
artificially restocked. 

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 

The measures necessary to secure a second cut are recommended 
as being inexpensive and practical. 

The measures necessary to secure reproduction and protection 
of seedlings would involve a slightly increased expense, would 
promise no immediate financial return, but would preserve the 
productiveness of the soil by insuring a timber crop on land not 
farmed, and might prove ultimately of great financial value to the 
land owners when they come to sell these lands. These measures can 
be urged only as a matter of far-reaching public policy. If timber 
owners believe that a second growth of seedling pine will be of great 
benefit to the community and state, it is in their power to secure 
it on their own lands now at less expense than at any future time or 



22 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

by any other owner, yet such a policy might not be profitable to 
them. 

Since it is possible that these lands may ultimately be used for 
agriculture, the state government can hardly be justified in any 
attempt to compel the timberland owners to undertake measures 
that will assure a permanent forest. States can encourage private 
efforts at reforestation by proper tax laws and fire protection, or 
such lands can be acquired by states and reforested at state 
expense. Along these lines, and not by arbitrary regulation, 
progress towards securing new crops of pine must be made. 



PART II 

CLOSE UTILIZATION OF TIMBER 

By Ralph C. Bryant 



INTRODUCTION 

The lack of close utilization of yellow pine timber is apparent 
on many operations in the South. In the following discussion 
some of the more common wastes are considered and a method 
suggested whereby lumbermen may prolong the life of their opera- 
tions. The data were secured during the years 1907-12 in Mis- 
souri, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. The need for 
the exercise of more care in felling and log making was distinctly 
shown in the discussion which followed the writer's presentation of 
this subject before the Southern Logging Association during its 
annual meeting in September, 1912. 

STUMPS 

Yellow pine operators in the past have cut high stumps and the 
loss of merchantable material from this source, in many cases, 
has totaled several per cent of the stand. The more progressive 
loggers now realize that this form of waste is needless and insist 
on stumps of a reasonable height, usually between eighteen and 
twenty-four inches. However, there are many instances where 
waste still occurs through lack of proper supervision of the saw 
crews. 

There are several points to be considered in determining the 
proper height at which stumps should be cut. Among these are: 
(a) size of the timber; (b) soundness of the butt; (c) amount of 
pitch in the butt; and (d) labor conditions in the region. 

In the case of sound trees stump heights should not be greater 
than the diameter of the trees at the cutting point, with a maximum 
height of 24 to 26 inches, even for the largest trees. That the 
latter heights are thoroughly practical for large trees is evidenced 
by the fact that careful operators use them. 

Where butts are defective or pitchy there may not be any gain 
from cutting low stumps since the added material secured might 
be thrown away at the mill; however, the faller's judgment should 
not be taken in such cases without being checked by a saw boss. 



24 



Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 



A difficulty is sometimes experienced by operators in securing 
low stumps when labor is scarce, because the lower the cut the 
more fatiguing the work, and unless all operators in a given 
section have the same standards, the workmen will seek employ- 
ment with those who are most lax in their methods. 

It may not always be possible to secure as much extra material 
by cutting low stumps and saving these sections as is shown in 
Table 5, because of the possibility of having to leave a short 
section in the top of the tree which is not of sufficient length to 
make an added 2 feet on the top log; nevertheless, the material 
saved in the butt log will be of greater value from the standpoint 
of both quality and quantity, because of the larger diameter and 
the freedom from knots. 



A B 





FIG. 1. METHOD OF CUTTING WINDFALLS. 

A source of waste in stumps has frequently been observed on 
windfalls. The fallers, if left to their own judgment, will almost 
invariably make the first cut from 3 to 6 feet above the base of 
the tree, while in nearly every case it should not be more than 2 
feet above it, as shown in Figure 1. 



Table 5. — Amount of Timber in Stump Sections of Various Diameters 
and Lengths, Showing the Waste in High Stumps. 



Diameter of 


Excess heights on stumps. 












cutting point. 


2 inches 


4 inches 


6 inches 


8 inches 


Inches. 


Board feet, log scale (Doyle 


rule). 


16 


1.0 


2.0 


3.0 


4.0 


20 


2.6 


4.0 


6.0 


8.0 


24 


3.0 


6.6 


10.0 


13.0 


28 


5.0 


10.0 


15.0 


20.0 


32 


7.0 


14.0 


21.0 


28.0 


36 


9.0 


18.6 


28.0 


37.0 


40 


12.0 


24.0 


36.0 


48.0 


44 


16.0 


30.0 


45.0 


60.0 


48 


18.0 


37.0 


55.0 


73.0 


52 


22.0 


44.0 


66.0 


88.0 



Close Utilization of Timber 25 

BREAKAGE OF BOLES IN FELLING 

The loss through breakage is largely due to the carelessness 
of the individual saw crews in felling trees on stumps and across 
down timber. A further loss usually occurs in cutting broken 
timber into logs, by making the saw-cut too far below the break. 
Where the break is not square across, it is often possible to obtain 
added material by cutting the log so as to include a portion of the 
broken end. This should always be done on large timber where 
the extra section that can be secured is at least equal to one-half 
the diameter of the log. (See Plate II, Fig. 1.) 

CROOKED TREES 

Crooked trees are common in yellow pine forests and greater 
care than is generally the rule should be given to cutting them 
into logs. 

The tree should be divided into log lengths so that slight 
crooks will come on the ends of logs. If the sweep is pronounced, 
a section containing it should be cut from the tree and left in 
the forest. 

Crooked logs are not only more difficult than straight ones to 
load and unload from cars, but they require several times longer 
to get them onto the carriage and to saw. As a result the output 
is often reduced from 20 to 75 per cent, thereby materially 
increasing the cost of the lumber to the manufacturer over that 
from straight logs. 

The loss in sawing at the mill due to crookedness is greater on 
small than on large logs because a higher percentage of the small 
log is wasted in squaring. 

FORKED TREES 

Waste which usually accompanies the cutting of logs from 
forked trees is due largely to the following causes : 

(1) Felling so that one fork of the tree is bedded in the 
ground, in which case the sawyers follow the line of least resist- 
ance and leave the log uncut. (Plate III, Fig. 1.) This can be 
avoided in most instances by felling the timber so that the forks 
will fall flat. 

(2) Cutting too far below the crotch. This is well illustrated 
in the trees shown in Plate III, Fig. 1, where the cut could have 
been made seven feet nearer the crotch; in Plate III, Fig. 2, and 



26 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

Plate IV, Fig. 1, four feet nearer. The sawyers in each case dis- 
regarded their employer's interests and made the cut at the point 
where the least labor was involved. Although cutting at the 
proper point would, because of the swelling, have required more 
work, the value of the extra time consumed would have been only 
a small part of the worth of the timber saved. 

(3) Cutting too far above the crotch. In the tree shown in 
Plate III, Fig. 1, the cut should have been made three feet lower 
on the tree and in Plate IV, Fig. 1, two feet lower, thereby saving 
42 feet log scale in the first and 21 feet in the second case without 
additional expense for labor. The further waste of an 18-foot 
log fourteen inches in diameter (103 board feet log scale), shown 
in Plate III, Fig. 1, as partly bedded in the ground, can be 
explained as due to insufficient inspection. The stumpage value 
of the waste in this tree alone, at $4.50 per thousand feet, is 
$1.60. 




FIG 2. FORKED TREE IMPROPERLY CUT. 



The waste of stumpage was not the only loss, since close obser- 
vation of forked logs showed that in all cases the transportation 
and handling from the stump through the mill was accompanied 
by greater labor and expense than straight logs of the same 
diameter. An extreme case is illustrated in Fig. 2. The log was 
12 feet long and 18 inches in diameter at one end, and because 
of its form was exceedingly difficult to handle. The yield of 
sawed lumber was not determined, but was estimated to be only 
40 per cent of the full content of a straight 18-inch log. The 
following time was consumed in handling: from mill pond to mill 
deck, 12 minutes ; throwing log out of log trough, 4 minutes ; 
sawing, 13 minutes, a total of 29 minutes. 

So much time was consumed in getting this log onto the mill deck 
that the band mill was out of logs for five minutes. The gang 
saw also ran out of cants and was idle for three minutes because 
of the stoppage of the band which was slabbing logs for it. 

The thirteen minutes required for sawing was six times greater 
than the average for a straight 18-inch log 12 feet, and the 



Close Utilization or Timber 



27 



lumber yield was 60 per cent less, so that it would require fifteen 
times longer to cut a given amount of lumber from logs of this 
character than it would from sound straight ones. The loss in 
wages of the mill crew alone was greatly in excess of the value 
of the lumber secured from this particular log. 

Although this is an extreme case, losses occur every time crooked 
or forked logs are handled. The cut of a single band mill may 
easily be reduced from 25 to 50 logs daily when many crooked and 
forked ones are handled, which means a reduction in output of 
from 3,000 to 6,000 board feet. 



12' 2" 



» 40' 




— Ife'3' 




FIG 8. FORKED TREES IMPROPERLY PREPARED. 

Further illustrations of logs actually observed on the skidways, 
in the woods, and on the decks of sawmills are given in Fig 3. 
These logs are not only difficult to handle, but in "A" one end 
is worthless and should have been left in the woods. It would 
have been far easier to handle log "B" had the lower fork been 
cut as shown by the dotted line. 

TRIMMING LENGTH OF LOGS 



Out of 1,000 logs measured on the skidways of a yellow pine 
operation, only 426 had the right trimming length, that is, from 
3 to 4 inches. Of the remainder, 141 logs had a trimming length 
of less than 2 inches; 100 logs, 2 inches; and 333 logs, 5 to 15 



28 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

inches. This variation was due either to carelessness in handling 
the marking stick or to the use of a stick of incorrect length. The 
ends of marking sticks are often accidentally cut off, and unless 
a new stick is at once secured, few of the measurements by the 
crew will be accurate. 

The results of incorrect trimming lengths are readily apparent 
in watching the lumber pass over the trimmer in the mill. Boards 
that have a trimming length less than 2 inches are usually reduced 
2 feet in length because the setter pulls the board past the fixed 
saw to secure a trimming edge and the far end usually falls short 
and is cut back to the next even 2 feet. 

The total of the superfluous trimming lengths on the logs in a 
given tree when taken in connection with the merchantable mate- 
rial left in the top, is often sufficient to yield 2 or more feet of 
log length per tree over that actually secured. 

SELECTION OF LOG LENGTHS 

Every tree before being measured should be carefully examined 
and as far as possible the bole so divided that all high grade 
material is confined to certain logs and all low grade material 
to others. 

Log-makers do not pay sufficient attention to cutting up boles 
on which punk knots and other indications of rot appear on the 
surface, often dividing them so that these defects come in the 
middle of logs instead of on the end. In the former case, if the 
rot has not extended more than a few feet in either direction from 
the defect, the log will have sound wood on both ends, which, how- 
ever, is of little value because a high percentage of the board will 
be low grade or rotten. If the defect is on the end of the log, 
the unsound portion of the boards can be cut off in the mill and 
lumber of merchantable quality and length secured. 

It should also be the rule in log-making to divide the bole so 
as to separate the knotty top sections from the clear portions, 
so that the latter can be worked up to the best advantage. A 
12-foot log free from knots is of more value than a 16-foot one 
that has numerous large knots, and there are instances where 
it is more profitable to leave the upper part of the tree in the 
woods if the logs thus secured yield a high percentage of the 
better grades. 

Camp foremen frequently are not thoroughly familiar with the 
grades of lumber that logs with given classes of visible defects 
will produce, consequently their rules for the guidance of fallers 
in determining the extent to which unsound and knotty logs shall 



Close Utilization of Timber 29 

be utilized, are often very indefinite. As a result fallers cut trees 
that are too poor to be brought out at a profit, and on the other 
hand, leave logs that should be utilized. 

WASTE IN THE TOP 

A common form of waste is shown in Fig. 4. Fallers in measur- 
ing up the bole of the tree reach a point where there may be one 
to several large limbs on one side, as "A" and "B," and they 
make their cut at "X," eliminating the rough portion of the 
bole. If the other side of the bole is free from limbs, as is often 
the case, the cutting point should have been extended 2 or 4 feet 
further, say to "Y," if that affords the proper log length. The 
object is to secure the added 2 or 4 feet of clear length on the 
lower half of the section, material that otherwise is wasted. If 
necessary, the large knots on the lumber secured from the upper 
half may be cut off on the trimmer. The clear half of the section 
will not lower the quality of the lumber secured, but, on the other 
hand, may slightly increase the percentage of the better grades 
and, in addition, the lumberman benefits by the greater amount 
of material secured. The added cost of handling the log in the 
woods and mill because of the extra 2 or 4 feet will be very small 
in comparison to the value secured. 



FIG. 4. METHOD OF CUTTING ROUGH TOPS. 

Sections of merchantable timber partly or wholly free from 
knots, and from 1 to 12 feet long, are often left in the tops, due 
to inadequate supervision. (See Plate IV, Fig. 2, and Plate V, 
Fig. 1.) In order to determine the waste from this cause, a 
detailed study was made on 19.5 acres of logged lands belonging 
to a careful operator. This showed that 3.51 per cent of the 
total merchantable stand on the area had been left in the tops. 
The data were secured by measuring every felled tree on the area, 
great care being taken to scale only such part of each top as 
was considered merchantable by the owner. No length less than 2 
feet was measured and the minimum diameter taken was 8 inches. In 
many cases where the length left in the top was in odd feet it would 



30 



Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 



have been possible to have utilized completely the entire merchant- 
able part of the bole had the log lengths been carefully marked 
off. The table gives a very conservative estimate of the waste 
in felling and log-making because it does not cover loss from high 
stumps, excessive trimming lengths, or of logs so cut that the 
best quality of material was not secured. 

The yearly waste in tops on this operation, based on the annual 
cut for 1911, 1 was 1,937,795 feet b.m. (Doyle rule), and adding 
25 per cent increase for overrun at the mill, it shows a loss of 
2,422,243 feet b.m. Assuming stumpage is worth $4.50 per 1,000 
feet b.m., the annual loss is $8,770. The profit secured from the 
sale of the sawn material, say $3 per thousand feet, should be 
included with this, which brings the total to $14,533. 2 

A gain of one year's cut (based on the cut of 1911) could be 
secured every 22.7 years, if the total merchantable timber on the 
lands were utilized. On the basis of a 20-year cut, the life of the 
operation would be prolonged 10.5 months. 

Table 6. — Measurements on Cut-over Lands in Ashley County, 
Arkansas, Showing the Lack of Close Utilization. 

(Doyle Rule) 



Area in 
acres. 


No. of trees 
cut. 


Log scale 

utilized. 

bd. ft. 


Log scale 

left in tops. 

bd. ft. 


Total merch. 

contents. 

bd. ft. 


2.295 
1.147 
2.295 
2.295 
2.295 
2.295 
2.295 
2.295 
2.295 


38 
20 
59 
62 
52 

63 

41 


13,046 
12,455 
26,430 
28,660 
28,005 
20,778 
27,920 
38,350 
19,750 


1,025 
1,120 
1,206 

960 
68 

461 

648 
1,527 

816 


14,071 
13,575 
27,636 
29,640 
28,073 
21,239 
28,568 
39,877 
20,566 


19.507 




215,394 


7,831 


223,245 



Per cent of merchantable timber wasted in tops equals 3.51. 



The price of lumber 20 years hence will be far greater than it 
is to-day and the character of material that can be utilized will 
undergo a change; therefore, every year the operation can be 
extended will mean increased profits per thousand board feet of 
lumber manufactured. 

Closer utilization will not mean an increase in the percentage 
of lower grades, but on the contrary the tendency should be the 

1. The data was secured in 1912. 

2. The loss is in reality greater than this because the added expense of skidding, loading, 
hauling and sawing logs with an added 2 or 4 feet length is only slightly in excess of the cost 
of handling the shorter logs, and the operator really secures this added timber at a very slight 
additional cost. 



Close Utilization of Timber 31 

reverse, because timber left in the tops is of as high grade as 
much of the material now taken; and the cutting of a tree for 
quality as well as quantity will increase the percentage of 
"uppers." 

SUGGESTIONS 

The successful solution of this problem can only be brought 
about by thorough inspection of felling and log-making. Where 
ten or more saw crews are employed, the proper supervision of 
this work will require the services of a saw boss, who should be 
responsible to the team boss in order that close cooperation may 
exist between felling and skidding crews. 

A man to be a competent saw boss must understand thoroughly 
the mill requirements for logs, in order that the timber may be 
cut into the most desirable and profitable lengths; should be an 
expert log scaler ; and must have the ability to teach and handle 
men successfully. 

DUTIES OF THE SAW BOSS 

(1) The distribution and care of all tools issued to fallers 
and log-makers. Economy is effected by a system of accounting 
for tools and other equipment. Special attention should be given 
to checking up the length of measuring sticks each day. 

(2) Culling all trees and logs that are not worth handling. 

(3) The instruction of the workmen in marking off log lengths 
on felled trees in order to enable them to secure the maximum 
quality and quantity of timber. 

(4) The thorough inspection of the work of the felling and 
log-making crews to point out mistakes for the purpose of avoid- 
ing them in the future. 

(5) The scaling of all timber that is felled. 

Difficulties will be experienced at the start, but instruction by a 
saw boss for three or four weeks will result in a marked improve- 
ment in the work. Careful supervision, however, will be required 
constantly, for it is easy for workmen to fall back into old habits. 

The saw boss should, after a few weeks, have sufficient time to 
scale the timber at the stump, since his inspection duties will 
require him to visit every felled tree. The wages of a scaler can 
thereby be saved. 

The salary of a competent saw boss should be at least $100 per 
month, because a man without proper conception of the work would 
be of little value. 



32 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 

The successful inauguration of a scheme of this sort should 
involve some reward for the laborer who does his work well, inas- 
much as he is called upon to exercise greater care and intelligence, 
and the additional profits accruing to the lumber company should, 
in part, be shared with him. This reward might assume the form 
of a bonus of a few cents per thousand feet of timber cut, or a 
slight increase in the daily wage. 



Bui. 2, Yale Forest School 




FIG. 1— TOP BROKEN FROM FALLING ON A STUMP 




FIG. 2— VERY CROOKED LOG READY FOR LOADING 



Bui. 2, Yale Forest School 



Plate III 




FIG. 1— EXAMPLE OF VERY WASTEFUL CUTTING OF A FORKED TREE 




FIG. 2— UNNECESSARY WASTE IN LOG MAKING 



Bui. 2, Yale Forest School 



Plate IV 




FIG. 1— SECTION BELOW THE TOP SHOWN IN PLATE V 




FIG. 2— WASTE IN A TOP 



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